Love flying? Stay current on aviation news and special features by registering for a free AVweb account.

Registering gives you access to our massive archive of news and features and allows you subscribe to our general aviation, business aviation, and podcast newsletters. Click here to sign up.

HOME
REGISTER/LOGIN
FREE NEWSLETTER
XML|RSS
Advanced Search
PODCAST
VIDEO

Monday 6th February 2012

Top News
Nearly 10,000 of the Air Force's active National Guard and Reserve airmen would be cut next year if plans detailed Friday by the Air Force go into effect. Specific numbers trim 5,100 guardsmen, 3,900 active-duty members and 899 reservists. The Air Force Times has reported that the Air Force does not intend "to employ involuntary cuts in the active force to reach that goal." The plan brought immediate push-back.
Feb 4, 7:37am UTC

More News
Flight attendants from more than 20 airlines will "occupy" a section of LAX on Monday to protest labor provisions in a proposed FAA reauthorization bill.
Feb 6, 1:49am UTC
As part of its bankruptcy reorganization, American Airlines could announce plans next week to lay off more than 13,000 workers and eliminate pension plans, or, warns one analyst, the end of the airline could be near.
Feb 4, 12:43am UTC
What appeared to be human forms recently seen flying over New York city made passes along the Brooklyn bridge, flew past the Statue of Liberty, and some even performed loops -- they were also part of a viral marketing campaign.
Feb 1, 11:27pm UTC
Stratolaunch Systems, the new company formed in December by Paul Allen to build a giant Burt Rutan-designed aircraft that will launch payloads into Earth orbit, has started construction on a production facility and a hangar at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
Feb 1, 8:42pm UTC
For about five years, the FAA has limped along with 23 short-term funding appropriations from Congress, but on Tuesday, congressional leaders said they have reached agreement on a four-year, $63 billion funding bill.
Jan 31, 11:44pm UTC
 
Back in 2003, the SEC filed a complaint against Moller International and Paul S. Moller, for the development and marketing of a Skycar -- on January 30, 2012, Moller International began promoting two new Skycar designs for the LSA category.
Feb 3, 2:06am UTC
Production may be about two years off and the facility has yet to be built, but Kestrel Aircraft Co. hopes to create 600 jobs in Superior, Wisconsin, over the next few years, and resumes are already coming in.
Feb 3, 4:03am UTC
Southern California, Atlanta, Chicago and New York were identified as areas that face the risk of having too few controllers as veteran controllers retire, according to a report by the Department of Transportation.
Feb 2, 12:39am UTC
About 400 pilots are affected by sweeping layoffs proposed by American Airlines as it tries to emerge from bankruptcy.
Feb 2, 3:51am UTC
After working on its foray into aviation for 25 years, Honda can be expected to be looking for a return on its patient investment, but comments made by the head of the company's aviation division to Reuters turned some heads on Tuesday.
Feb 1, 12:23am UTC

COMPLETE NEWS Read the Latest Issue of AVwebFlash
NEWS ARCHIVES Past News Stories on AVweb

 

AVweb Insider Blog
If you fly one LSA after another, you sometimes forget what a good handling really is.
 

AVweb Insider Home

Features & Columns

Letter of the Week: The Case for Fuel Taxes

Regarding aviation user fees: I assert that the "user" of the ATC system is not the airline or airplane, but the person traveling. The person traveling needs ATC to get him or her safely to his or her destination. If you want to charge per flight, you should charge per passenger on that flight. In that case, an airliner carrying 200 passengers should pay more than a corporate jet carrying four passengers. In fact, it should pay about fifty times more.

In addition, you should charge more for longer flights than for shorter flights. A flight from New York to Los Angeles spends more time in ATC than a flight from New York to Chicago.

Now, in order to collect this fee, a whole new bureaucracy will have to be developed. Who is going to track the fifty million individual flights each year? How is the money paid? Who will audit all of this? How do the many corporate jets figure into all of this? And what about air freight?

Let's look for a cheaper way to fund ATC that is still equitable.

It turns out that, when measured by passenger-mile, most airplanes get about the same mileage, about 60 passenger-miles per gallon. Now, there is a range, but it's not six passenger-miles per gallon, and it's not six hundred passenger-miles per gallon, either — and it tracks reasonably close for a 737 or a Citation.

Let's take a commercial flight of 1,000 miles with 200 passengers. That's about 200,000 passenger-miles. At sixty passenger miles per gallon, that's about 3,000 gallons of fuel. If you want to recover $100 from this flight, that's about three cents per gallon.

At three dollars per gallon fuel cost, that's about one percent. Sure, people will complain. But it will be a whole lot cheaper with much less hassle than collecting this fee separately.

Like everyone else, I don't like paying taxes, but I also believe that there are government services that need to be paid for, and they need to be paid for, directly or indirectly, by the people who benefit from the service. In this case, given a choice of fuel tax or [a] separately calculated and charged fee, I go with the tax.

Reid Sayre

Click through to read the rest of this week's letters.

Brainteasers Operating out of the same airports leads to familiarity, which can breed complacency. That's when you're likely to encounter something that's a little off your grid. Help us find our way back by acing this quiz.

Take the quiz.
Finally joining the Air Force's Strategic Air Command, Dick Taylor and his wife move to Florida, and Dick begins training in air-refueling techniques in the KC-97 Stratotanker.
 
This week's winning photo comes from Dan Gay of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk (UK). Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.
This week's winning photo comes from Daniel Valovich of Hot Springs, AR. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.
This week's winning photo comes from Vincent Calio of Oxford, CT. Click here for the rest of this week's submissions.

FULL INDEX OF FEATURES Browse Our Features Archive
FULL INDEX OF COLUMNS Browse Our Columns Archive

Podcasts and Video
podcasts sponsored by Bose Corporation
When a Mooney pilot got into trouble last December, stuck above the clouds and running out of fuel, controllers at the Seattle tracon helped him to a safe landing. In this podcast, AVweb's Mary Grady takes you through the audio tape of the event, which won the controllers an Archie League Award this week from NATCA.
Jeff Skiles, known as the first officer for the "Miracle on the Hudson" flight, served as co-chair of EAA's Young Eagles program for a couple of years, and now he's signed on with EAA as vice president of chapters and youth education. He spoke with AVweb's Mary Grady about the new Eagle Flight program for adults, some expanded youth programs in the works, and EAA's global future.
The Light Sport sector has been around for seven years and is earning a respected place in the general aviation industry according to Dan Johnson, president of the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA). He spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida.
The sudden departure of FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt has thrown a wrench into EAA and AOPA's proposal for a waiver of medical requirements for those who fly certain aircraft day VFR. AOPA President Craig Fuller spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida.
The LSA market doesn't lack for choice, and walking the line at Sebring, one show-goer told us they sort of all look alike. With a few exceptions, that's probably true. But one that definitely doesn't look like the rest is The Sam from Haim Aviation. It's a fast-build E-LSA kit powered by a Rotax that has a funky 1930s retro look, complete with a greenhouse canopy and art deco wheel pants. In this podcast, Haim's Thierry Zibi gave us the rundown on this new project.
EAA President Rod Hightower keynoted the Sport Aviation Expo opening dinner Thursday and touched on EAA's strategic realignment, new pilot promotion initiatives, and the FAA's internal dialogue about a possible weight gain for light sport aircraft. He spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles.
Chris and Corinne McLaughlin are on their way down the coast of South America in a 1978 Skyhawk, on a two-month journey from Cape Cod to Cape Horn to help raise awareness about the need for more organ donors. Chris was a 747 pilot before he fell ill and an organ donation saved his life. He talks with AVweb's Mary Grady about the trip and the mission.
 
There's a new eye in the sky over Tulsa these days, and it's keeping an eye on things for the local sheriff's office for about 10 percent of the cost of a helicopter. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Roger Crow of Echo Flight Resources about the Flight Design CTLE law-enforcement platform based on a light sport aircraft.
One of the most popular kitbuilt light sport aircraft is the Vans RV-12. Ken Scott took AVweb through the airplane at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida.
The common wisdom in aviation is that air conditioning is heavy. Corbi Aviation has proven that effective air conditioning can come in a package that's light enough (22-35 pounds, depending on application) to use in light sport aircraft. The system was on display at the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Florida.
Most light sport aircraft are made in Eastern Europe, but there's a slight trend to bring these airplanes to the U.S. for manufacture. One of the companies at the fore of that trend is Allegro. At the U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, AVweb talked to the company about its plans.
One thing the light sport aircraft industry doesn't have much of is biplanes and aerobats. But the F12 Comet is both. At the Sport Aivation Expo in Sebring, AVweb talked to Mike Hansen of Hansen Air Group about this German-designed East European import. Besides being the rare aerobatic LSA, it will soon be getting Lycoming's new AEIO-233, a fully aerobatic powerplant.
The Renegade Falcon LS is one of the first airplanes to have Lycoming's new IO-233 light sport engine. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli took the airplane for a flight trial recently.

FULL INDEX OF PODCASTS Find All Podcasts Of Interest

AVwebBiz: AVweb's Business Aviation Newsletter
Delivered every Wednesday morning, AVwebBiz focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry, making it a must-read.

Add AVwebBiz to your free subscriptions today by clicking here and choosing "Update E-mail Subscriptions."
Jan 1, 10:14pm UTC

JavaScript Menus and DHTML Menus Powered by Milonic


Who's Where
Flexjet
Gino Jooyan is the new southwest coast fractional sales director for Flexjet. He's been in the business for 10 years and was most recently V.P. of business development for an aircraft management company.

Feb 1, 4:12am UTC

FULL INDEX OF WHO'S WHERE STORIES Find Past Who's Where Stories Of Interest

VIDEO


Where's My Flying Car?

No video? Direct link here.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Are there circumstances where pilots should face criminal action?

A New Hampshire pilot is facing manslaughter charges in the death of his daughter after the twin he was flying without a multi-endorsement crashed in Massachusetts.


Share your Opinion »

PILOT RESOURCES

FBO OF THE WEEK

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Franklin Aviation at Macon County Airport (K1A5) in Franklin, North Carolina.

AVweb reader Gerry McCarley is a regular at 1A5 and vouched for Franlin's top-notch service in his recommendation of the FBO:

I visit Franklin Aviation several times a year. Their customer care and service are some of the best I have found. On a recent visit (over Christmas) the weather changed, and snow/ice was forecast. Without my asking, Neil and his people found space in their hangar and kept my airplane inside over that night. Their fuel prices are competitive, and with the new extended runway and GPS approach, it's one of the best places to stop.

Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.

AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!

Nominate an FBO »

SHORT FINAL...

Heard this at John Wayne Airport recently. The airliners often like to take off from runway 1L if the wind is within their take-off limits to save fuel.

United 123:
"John Wayne ground, say winds please."

John Wayne Ground:
"Winds are variable between 110 and 120 at 6 knots."

John Wayne Ground (after a pause) :
"Actually, I guess they aren't that variable, are they?"

Mike Banner
via e-mail

Submit your story »

Copyright Aviation Publishing Group. All rights reserved | Privacy Policy | Advertise | Contact Us | XMLRSS | Site Map | Top